Can you believe Christmas is over?! I can't, but I never can. There's always so much anticipation surrounding Christmas for our family, you know with the presents, planning the big meal and family reunions, that I'm always a little sad when the excitement over the big day is done. I leave my Christmas tree up through New Year's Day every, single year...I just can't let it go before then.

For Christmas dinner this year we kept the menu very simple, but we enjoyed some our most-loved dishes. We prepared a honey-glazed ham, our favorite recipe for creamy, cheesy scalloped potatoes, and a pot of country-style green beans with bacon. The meal was served with some buttery, soft, fresh-baked dinner rolls and we made a spiced apple pie and some homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

This is just a quick picture post of some Christmas cookies that I enjoyed making very much! They are simple, classic and I just think they are terribly cute. I also heard they were a bit hit at my niece's preschool :)

I hope everyone is feeling ready the holiday with their family's. I know I'm definitely not ready and I'm behind on shopping and as usual. That means I'll be out with the other slackers picking up several gifts at the last minute...that's just how I roll.

I've got more cookies going out over the weekend and I'll post pictures when it all slows down next week!

In the last few weeks, we've been experimenting and making our own coffeehouse-style drinks at home. By far, the biggest hit with our whole coffee-loving family has been the classic mocha latte combination. I've made a gazillion of them recently and it hasn't gotten old yet.

Coffee and cocoa, you say?! You had us all from the start... for sure.

I don't think it matters where you are from, I think everyone will agree that one of the best treats in the world is a homemade flour tortilla. We are so lucky to have some of the world's best Mexican (Tex-Mex) restaurants in the world here in San Antonio and warm, fresh tortillas are served at the table with every meal.

Well, hi there! I hope you all had the best Thanksgiving, and if a school schedule applies to you, I hope you enjoyed a nice, restful week off. I was ever so thankful to have a free week with my kids, but for our family it was definitely not restful.

Seeing as how this November is pretty much a wash for new recipe posts, I just wanted to pop in this morning and type up a quick message to those of you who visit me here regularly.

The much anticipated kitchen "facelift" that was scheduled to be completed in four days was, of course, more complicated than we initially planned and we hit a few (eh hem) speed bumps. But, the good news it's all done, and now we are just moving back in to the kitchen, literally. Slowly, but surely, we're getting all the appliances back in to place and plugged in. We were without a stove/oven for a week and two weeks later my dishwasher is still in the garage (but that's okay, that's what kids are for, right?!)

In our neck of the woods, it's still warm enough to wear a swim suit even though brown, crispy leaves are steadily falling from the trees outside. Ironically, the temperature of the ground has dropped so that it's not comfortable to swim in any body of water (except a heated swimming pool), but a sunburn is plum guaranteed if you spend too long outside without sun protection. The sun is still very, very intense. When it comes to fashion, I'm presently trying to balance my seasonal clothing preferences (I own more sweaters than pairs of shorts. No, I don't know why, but it's 100% true!) and what actually makes sense for our climate, and it gets a bit confusing at times. Myself along with lots of other folks here are dreaming of the the fall weather, but still having to cope with the crazy heat so the standard weekend attire becomes something along these lines: a long sleeve cotton tee (in festive fall colors, of course!), shorts or a skirt, flip flops and sunglasses.

For my family, the very end and very beginning of each year are time periods that jam-packed with celebrations for the holidays, of course, but we also attend multiple family birthday parties. It's just how the cookie crumbled for us that the majority of family birthdays, on both sides, are in the fall and winter months. Throughout the upcoming weeks, we'll stay busy attending and hosting parties so that means that I'll lean heavily on dishes that know are delicious, impressive... and easy. This Rustic Caramel-Apple Upside Skillet Cake is a perfect example of the sorts of recipes I keep around for special occasions.

This satisfying, hearty version
of chicken noodle soup is an honest-to-goodness staple here at my house and my
kids ask itoften.
In my opinion, this is an easy, healthful meal and I don't mind making it,
even on the fly, because they eat it so well. Shockingly, they even eat the
vegetables in this soup without protest and that is a distinction that this
dish has all to itself! Carrots and celery don't go over nearly so well with my
crew outside of a bowl of this soup.

The first time I made this soup as meal for my family was way back when my
sassy, tween son was just a wee toddler...he was also a card-carrying member of
the pickiest-eater-on-the-planet club. I made this soup for a sick family
member and truthfully, I didn't expect him to even try it when he saw those
colorful, healthful foods scattered amongst the noodles.

I was so excited to read this book when I received it! Food allergies have made adopting a gluten-free diet a necessity for members of both my immediate and extended family. I was eager to learn more about making delicious meals for such a special diet. For a traditional baker and cook like myself, the special flours and thickening agents that are called for regularly in gluten-free recipes can seem so mysterious. I enjoyed very much getting a more complete glimpse of a gluten-free diet and lifestyle through these recipes and photos. As it turns out, a gluten-free diet doesn't seem so limited afterall.

Immediately, my interest was in the dessert and breakfast sections of the book and I was impressed by the beautiful and scrumptious-looking pictures for classic favorites such as carrot cake, upside-down plum cake, blondies, and brownies. For breakfast there were recipes for baked goods such as cinnamon buns, sweet breads, muffins, pancakes and doughnuts! There are also several other delicious dessert and breakfast recipes that would keep those that follow gluten-free diet, but love to bake, happy for some time to come.

It's officially fall, y'all! I'm so thankful that the temperature outside has cooled off a bit. It's still warm out there, but it's not crazy hot like it has been. As I get older, I find the brutal, end-of-summer heatwave more and more unbearable and I seriously look forward to even the slightest drop in the heat index!

Succotash is a classic dish and I am one of it's most loyal fans, for sure. I usually like to serve it as it's supposed to be, in all it's simple glory, with just corn, Lima beans and a little salt and pepper. But, lately I've been taking a few little liberties with this old-fashioned dish by adding in some onion and crispy bacon bits. My small adaptations to this old standby were on the list for an upcoming fall post, until it seems life intervened and made the changes a bit more dramatic... and better.

As are so many of the recipes I post here, this sweet and spicy version of succotash was born out of a grocery list-based mistake. My family of very distracted shoppers continues to keep me on my toes in the kitchen. I love it, really. This homebody has to get fresh inspiration from somewhere, right?!

It's been a while since I've shared pics of any of my baking projects here on the blog, but these cookies were so much fun that they definitely deserve a post. I'm working to get my Decorated Index Cookie tab updated on the blog home page too. Hopefully all of the fun cookies posts can be found in one place really soon.

I made these over the weekend for a customer who has become a sweet friend. Her daughter Novalea turned 14 and her big birthday present was a couple of tickets see the Nick Jonas/Demi Lovato concert here in San Antonio.

Rock star cookies were definitely in order for this special occasion! Happiest of birthdays, Novalea!

School madness is in full swing for us and this year we have more extra-curriculars on the schedule than ever before. My son is in his fourth season of soccer and he is trying his hand at hip-hop dance for the first time. My daughter just started ballet too, so on three evenings during the week and Saturday mornings we are booked for the next two months. That being said, you should know that I prefer to cook fresh veggies whenever possible, but I always have bags of frozen goodies in the freezer for extra busy school nights or nights when I'm feeling a bit lazy (yeps, totally happens).

I had every intention of filling this post with grand historical facts about the origin of the cake and it's namesake cousin, the Mississippi Mud Pie. However, a cursory search of the internet didn't yield much to pass on beyond the obvious: a rich chocolate, brownie-like cake smothered in melted marshmallows and chocolate glaze is alot like sticky mud...the mud around the Mississippi River, in particular. So, there you have it in a pretty anti-climactic nutshell.

But, after digging a little deeper it seems that based on the cake's puzzling name, the layers of the finished cake are cause for speculation over any symbolism their inclusion in the recipe has. Throughout the articles and posts I read, the ideas tossed around discussing the cake's bit and pieces went a lot like this:

It's really hard to believe that another summer has come and gone. It's back to school on Monday for my big fourth grader and of course, it's always a bittersweet beginning. I panicked mildly when I realized there are only two summers left before he starts middle school.
Didn't he just graduate from Pre-K last year?!

If you visit me regularly here or follow any of my social media accounts, then you are well-aware of how much I love to bake. Well, using the word 'love'to describe my affection for baking may not be the best word choice entirely because it definitely borders on obsession.But, I'll be the first to admit my problem and then happily share all about my huge collection of cake pans and cookie cutters that I absolutely adore. And, yes, I actually use them... all of them!However, a little known fact about me is that I cope with auto-immune disease that is triggered, in large part, by a food allergy. More specifically, I'm mildly allergic to milk. My reaction to dairy-based foods is very mild and thankfully is no where near a life-threatening level of allergy. Heaven knows I've eaten enough mint chocolate chip ice cream to date to prove it's not going to kill me. However, I've been learning to deal with the sudden onset of uncomfortable psoriasis patches since my late-twenties and that's been a life-altering process in it's own right.

Since we returned from our road trip vacation, so many people ask me these two questions: "So, why did you pick Savannah? What did you want to see there?" Well, in a nutshell...I love to learn about history, but more than that I wanted to see trees. Yes, trees!

Those large, Spanish moss-covered trees, that are so prominent in every film I've ever seen set in Savannah, were calling my name and I just had to see them in person. The Georgia greenery I've always wanted to see certainly didn't disappoint and the lush landscape was the number one attraction for me throughout the areas of the town we visited. But, as it turned out, we were staying only one block away from the historic Forsyth Park and just a 10-minute walk away from River Street dining and socializing hot spots. So, several times a day we made our way inside different establishments to enjoy appetizers and drinks too.

After over a month of non-stop travel, family visits, family functions, and one big road trip that took us all the way to the southern east coast, it feels great to be in one place long enough to work on this blog!

In June, we spent a week in the Ft. Worth area and visited the botanical gardens and the Ft. Worth Zoo with the kids. Not long after that family trip, Evan and I dropped the kids off with some trusted family members and set out on a long drive in search of some (much needed) grown-up fun.This trip was pretty special to us as it was planned to be the honeymoon we never had after we were married a couple of years ago. We are so blessed to have family members who were willing and able to give us such an extended break.

On our road trip, we saw miles and miles of beautiful country and got to stop and visit, albeit briefly, two destinations I've always been intrigued by: New Orleans, Lousiana and Savannah, Georgia! Our night in New Orleans was a flash in the pan, literally. We arrived after 8 hours of driving at 6 p.m., just enough time to clean up and head out for a couple of drinks and dinner. It was nearly dark when we got out and about and unfortunately, I don't have many pictures that are worth sharing from that night.

If you are familiar
with the popular meal-delivery service, Plated, you will be excited to know
that two members of their talented culinary staff have published a cookbook!
The book is well-organized and it really comes to life with the gorgeous photos
of several of the featured dishes throughout the book.

Overall, the book
showcases a great collection of classic recipes that every good cook needs on
hand such as bolognese sauce, fried chicken, risotto, polenta and much, much
more. I also really appreciate the ample selection of classic, foreign fare
they include such as gravlax, ramen, gyros and a few more. The book is also
peppered with a handful of good recipes for, what I refer to as, modern
classics such as white lasagna and fish tacos.

There are several
sections in the book meant to guide it's readers, no matter the skill-level,
towards experimenting with variations of the basic recipes they've written. For
instance, they offer several suggestions for re-purposing leftovers into new
dishes. But, my favorite aspect of this book are smart, seasonal ingredients
they suggest so that many of the recipes can be adapted throughout the
year.

I'm certain that this
book will be appreciated by cooks of all levels from to beginner to the most
advanced. The authors thoughtfully covered a wonderfully wide range of basic
cooking skills, modern menu suggestions, and lots of lovely recipes for every
time of the day.

Chances are that
anyone who thumbs through this cookbook will find a recipe they will look
forward to making for the first time, I know I found a few! I prepared the
book's recipe for potato gnocchi, which was a first for me. The instructions
were spot on, easy to follow and my first attempt at a classic potato gnocchi
was a delicious success.

Hi there. It's been a while, I know. Last week was sheer madness with the end of the school year closing in for my third grader. We had to get through his big school events like the school field day, the annual end-of-the-year field trip and the end-of-school-year dance. We were also the lucky invitees to a couple of fun, end-of-the-year birthday parties for some of our sweet friends.

Classic egg salad is a simple, comforting dish all year
round, but I tend to crave it the most when it starts to get warm outside. It’s a delicious, cool, savory treat when it's served on a bed of lettuce with crackers or as a filling in a sandwich.

In my experience, egg salad is one of those dishes that not only makes a quick and easy meal at home, but it also works when served at certain types of social events too. I guess those are some of the hallmark characteristics of a "classic" dish, right?

Well, anyway, this simple recipe is an oldie, but a goodie and definitely worthy of being recorded in a blog post. Honestly, a serving of this dish takes me back home when I make it and I'm always happy to go there.

One of my favorite things to do is make homemade jams and jellies. I make all kinds of them, but strawberry jam holds a special place in my heart. In my opinion, strawberries, hands down, just make the bestjam ever.

I’ve only
owned a waffle iron for about a year, but I can tell you that in such a brief amount of time I’ve grown to love it deeply and madly. Lately, it’s sincerely become my absolutefavorite toy in the kitchen. And, you better believe I’ve been
having tons of fun planning at least one meal a week around it!

In fact, I find
myself getting all giddy when it’s time to pour batter onto that perfectly patterned iron.

This is just a quick picture post of some fun cookies I made last week for Teacher Appreciation Week. I donated these 3 dozen cookies to my son's school. The teachers and administrators on his campus work incredibly hard to get our energetic kiddos through each school year successfully. I know lately they've all had some really long days, so I hope these cookies brightened their Friday afternoon.

Today is the day of state assessment testing for elementary schools across Texas. So, if you can, please take a minute to send prayers or good energy to all of the little students here. I know my son has felt a bit of anxiety about this big exam, so I just know your positive thoughts will help get him and his classmates get through this morning's test!

These pictures were taken with my iphone, not my Nikon. As my luck would have it, my big camera needed to charge when these cookies were dry and ready for a photo shoot.

I'm definitely going to think up some other themes to use these notebook paper decorated cookies with, I think they are so cute! Have a wonderful Monday, everyone and please enjoy the pics.

In the last
several posts, I’ve written about how make-ahead meals have been saving
us valuable time throughout the work week. I’ve
also shared a few of my favorite, overnight recipes that can work for breakfast,
lunch, and dinner.

I grew up
in a home where serving any kind of dessert was pretty much just a weekend thing. But, I’ve never
believed in skipping dessert just because it’s only Tuesday or any other weeknight, for that matter.

Spring showers are happening all over Texas and it's been really rainy and dreary here. This past Sunday, it stormed hard. Our backyard was a muddy mess and flash flood warnings were in effect for our area.

We weren't going anywhere.

So, to pass the time we watched a few movies, played board games and I, of course, baked!

When it comes to meal planning lately, I feel that I've found a healthy and successful balance of the good, bad and the ugly for myself and for my family. Raw fruit and veggies are making daily appearances on the snack and meal rotation and I'm enjoying them very much (my kids are starting to come around too).

Lately I've had a good swell of activity in my cookie business and that is good for me, but bad for the people who check my blog for activity and recipes. But, I'll just try to reassure anyone who needs it by using those everlasting, powerful words of Arnie: "I'll be back". It is true that sometimes I may have to disappear briefly to get some bakery orders out.

Now, this is primarily a picture post of what are, without a doubt, my favorite of all the cookies I've made to date!

Breakfast continues to be one of my problem areas when it comes to my recently-overhauled, healthier diet. In this neck of the woods, it's so easy make a quick stop and pick up inexpensive (and delicious!) breakfast tacos, or drive-thru and grab a cheese-smothered (amazing!) breakfast sandwich, that it's kinda hard to stay on track. So, to keep myself out of the drive-thru or from reaching for that box of frosted cereal, I've been in the market for quick, healthy breakfast ideas. In my last recipe post, I talked about toast and my love for the versatile, quickie breakfasts that can be made with it. I still love my toast, but I love variety too, so I'm still actively looking for healthful, fast morning meal ideas. So, if you are unfamiliar with them, allow me to introduce you to one of my new breakfast favorites: overnight oats.

Hello everyone and Happy First Day of Spring! This is my favorite time of the year and I just adore all the bright colors of springtime (maybe you can tell from my blog?)!

Here's just another quick picture post of a fun cookie pop arrangement I donated to a local church this morning. They were holding a silent auction as part of a large, Palm Sunday celebration they hosted and I'm always flattered and happy to participate when I'm asked to donate to events like theirs.

This is just a quick picture post of an event I made some goodies for over the weekend.

The hostess and family members of the momma-to-be went all out for this super cute, tea party-themed baby shower. They arranged all sorts of one-of-a-kind activities for their guests and I was hired to make four dozen decorated cookies, cake pops, and petit fours in an adorable "Tea for Two" theme. They chose a dainty pink, ivory and gold color scheme.

I really enjoyed working with the industrious hostess, Sydney, and her friend Denise for this beautiful party and I'm looking forward to next time. And, next time I hope she's throwing a party for me... she organized a truly amazing baby shower and she pulled out all the stops for her friend!

Toast is quite possibly the ultimate quickie breakfast. In heat of the morning rush, it just doesn't get easier than plopping sliced bread into the toaster, right? After just a few minutes in the toaster, those warm slices of bread cheerfully pop up, smelling like heaven and just begging for something delicious to be slathered on them.

Assuming that you own a toaster, of course, it's an understatement to say that toast is a breeze to prepare. But, you also can't discount the huge convenience factor that come with choosing toast for your breakfast of champions: two pieces of toast easily convert to a breakfast sandwich. Seriously, if you're in time crunch, just smack two pieces of toast (and whatever's between them, of course) together, wrap a napkin around the bottom and voilà - it's an ultra-portable breakfast sandwich!

For half of my life, I played it pretty safe with my breakfast toast giving those perfectly golden, crunchy pieces of bread a good smear of peanut butter or butter and jam. Ironically, back then I enjoyed all kinds of toasted sandwiches for lunch and dinner, but the idea of toast for breakfast with savory toppings, other than eggs, was a far out concept. As it turns out, I just didn't know any better.

It's usually on the third Sunday of each month that I have to dig a little deeper to get inspired for our big, end-of-the-weekend, family breakfast. Okay, I'll just say it: I get tired of pancakes. I have no doubt that my kids could eat pancakes or waffles every single day as a main course, but I like to change things up sometimes. So, last Sunday we collectively decided to make doughnuts for breakfast!

Around here we bake our doughnuts and this recipe for brown sugar cake doughnuts is my favorite. This was a basic vanilla cake doughnut recipe I got from an issue of Family Circle magazine years ago. It's a good one, but I've made a couple of very minor adaptations to it to suit my taste and style.

Spaghetti squash was new to me as recently as two years ago, but it's become a staple item here in my kitchen. I just love it! One medium-sized squash makes a lot of food and for that reason alone, it's a good thing it's such a versatile vegetable. I typically buy one good-sized spaghetti squash, roast the whole thing and then use it, one half at a time, to make two different dishes.

I love savory dishes served in pie shells like quiches, meat pot pies, and all kinds of pretty vegetable tarts. This tomato tart is my adapted version of a recipe I found in an old Southern Living cookbook years back. I haven't made this dish in a really long time and it was kind of forgotten about. I only recently re-discovered it in my massive stack of hand-written recipe cards when I was searching for a different recipe all together. I was trying to break us out of our recent boring chicken dinner rut and ended up going in a completely different direction with this veggie tart.

So far, February 2016 for us has been nothing short of eventful. As I write this post, I'm holding my three-year old daughter in my lap. She's been running fever and she's not feeling so hot at the moment. My son just bounced back from a seven-day run with sickness too. He had strep throat and something viral going on at the same time. It was awful. He was absolutely down and out. (Yes, I have hand sanitizer, baby wipes, and Lysol spray stashed in every corner of this house!)

His ninth birthday fell smack dab in middle of his run with the plague too. So, once it was evident he was on the mend, it was time to party!

Yesterday morning, I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to a gusty, rainy, cold morning outside my front door. What the heck happened, Mother Nature? Seriously, we were at the park and wearing shorts just the day before. On Monday afternoon, while my kids were playing, I was sitting on a park bench with rolled up sleeves trying to catch some rays on my face and arms. Monday afternoon was sun-drenched, cloudless, 66° and perfect.Not too long after we were surprised by the drastic weather change on Tuesday morning, I ushered my oldest off to school. When I got home, I finally checked the forecast. It read: "overcast, breezy and cooler with occasional rain". That would have been nice to know before we had to scramble away from the front door, desperately looking for the one, elusive umbrella we own.

The only appropriate way to describe this post is a mega-cheat day post. My cheat days will be happening on a weekly basis. And, yes, they do have to exist to ensure my sanity. I bake for a living, I love what I do and it's undeniable that I have big love for all things sugary and sweet. But, I've done pretty well lately with keeping my raging sweet tooth in check.

So, I've had a pretty serious, little, love-affair going on with zucchini and yellow squash for years now and I've even talked about it in a couple of previous posts. Late last year, I expanded my veggie-eating boundaries and tried both the butternut and acorn squash varieties for the first time. I really enjoyed eating them both and they swiftly became regular items on my grocery list.

Nowadays, and above all other types I've tried to the present date, acorn squash has stolen my heart. Not only because of it's sweet, mild flavor and soft texture, but because of it's petite size. Once an acorn squash is cut in half, it's a perfect, compact vehicle for lots of delicious fillings and an ideal serving size for one. If you know me, you know I'm am all about dual purposes!

This recipe was born out of ingredients I bought to use for holiday meals and never did. Apparently, I went a little overboard with meal planning and grocery shopping for both our Christmas Day and New Year's Day feasts. As of this morning, I had one large sweet potato, a couple of jalapeños, and a whole bunch of collard greens that need to be used while they were still fresh.

Judging from this New Year's Day post, maybe you can tell what my resolution is for 2016? Well, along with thousands of other people in the world, I've resolved to start eating a bit "cleaner" and exercising more. I actually enjoy eating healthily and my hope is to finally drop these extra pounds that have lingered with me since our daughter was born three years ago.

Okay, nobody panic, please. You will still see all kinds of baked goodies and recipes involving lots of chocolate, frosting and cheese here too. This is me you're dealing with after all, and a tiger can't change it's stripes. But, I do hope to reduce the mass that my stripes cover and squeeze them into a smaller dress size by June. So expect to see a few more salads, soups, grilled meats and, yes, smoothies thrown in to the mix here. I think it goes without saying it that every healthy, new recipe will be taste-tested and guaranteed delicious.

Welcome!

Hello! My name is Marcelle. I am a proud wife and mother to two amazing kids. I run a small bakery business from my home in South Texas and I'm absolutely addicted to decorating cookies. I'm also an adventurous home cook that loves to share recipes. This blog offers me the chance to share with you and family and friends who are far away. Thanks for stopping by!

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About Me

Hello! My name is Marcelle. I am a proud wife and mother to two amazing kids. I run a small bakery business from my home in South Texas and I'm absolutely addicted to decorating cookies. I'm also an adventurous home cook that loves to share recipes. This blog offers me the chance to share with you and family and friends who are far away. Thanks for stopping by!